


Time after time (after time after time...)

by SpaceBat (kuraikon)



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Immortal Husbands, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Immortal family, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Soft boys being soft, except they’re already married
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27980370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuraikon/pseuds/SpaceBat
Summary: Nicky, of course, went more than willingly into Joe’s embrace, matching his partners smile and curling both hands behind Joe’s neck. “The first time we got married was a mere 121 years after we met, a whirlwind romance, as they say.”Soft immortal husbands being soft.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 10
Kudos: 85





	Time after time (after time after time...)

**Author's Note:**

> I spent ages trying to work out the rough dates for their first marriage and I still don’t think it’s right!

It took Nile her entire morning coffee to realise Booker had been glancing at the calendar all morning. He would look at it, then to Nicky and Joe who were cooking the mornings offerings, then scrunch his face as if uncomfortable. Then he would nurse his own coffee thoughtfully before repeating the process. Nile looked at the calendar but could see no reason for him to be eyeing it up so suspiciously. Equally Nicky and Joe were being completely normal - standing hip to hip as they passed plates and food, flawlessly changing and merging languages as they talked softly and watching each other talk with hopeless adoration.

Eventually Andy yawned, enough coffee in her system to take in her surroundings to wake up and catch him. She tilted her head at the calendar and laughed.

“It is this year.”

Booker clicked his tongue. “Oui. But who’s turn?”

Their leader wrinkled her nose and then shrugged. “Fuck knows. It’s been a while.” A huge platter of Spanish eggs was placed at the table along with piles of toast. Andy snagged a piece and took a bite before waving it at Joe, almost smacking him in the face with the bread. “Oi, sevgililer, who’s turn is it?”

Nile huffed, pouting. “Do I dare ask what you’re talking about?”

Joe laughed, smile wide as he placed down a plate of potatoes. “Ah, Nile, what timing you have! You see, this year marks Nicky and I’s 800th wedding anniversary!” Joe pulled the kitchen towel from his shoulder as Nicky dropped a plate of bacon to the table and slung it around around his husbands waist - catching the other end with his spare hand and using it to pull Nicky to him. Nicky, of course, went more than willingly into Joe’s embrace, matching his partners smile and curling both hands behind Joe’s neck. “The first time we got married was a mere 121 years after we met, a whirlwind romance, as they say.”

Humming, Nicky leant forwards to press their noses together. “Our first wedding will always be my favourite; Greece always suits you, my love, in 1220 or 2020.”

“A mere 121 years, he says,” Nile rolled her eyes. “What do you mean, the first time?”

Andy pushed eggs onto Nile’s plate and then filled her own and passed the plate to Booker. “They get remarried every 100 years. It’s disgustingly adorable.”

Joe dropped the towel to the floor and pulled one of Nicky’s hands from his neck into his hand, beginning to sway them gently to non-existent music around the kitchen. “And we take turns in getting to propose to each other; in 1920 I arranged us to be in Paris for a rather exuberant engagement and wedding.”

“I feel it will be easier this time to convince someone to do the ceremony for us.” Nicky said, trying not to laugh as he was spun around the room. “We may not even have to threaten or hold anyone at knifepoint.”

“Perhaps romance is truly dying.” Booker said dryly and Nile snorted.

Andy’s eyes glinted over her mug. “Maybe we won’t have to try and pass one of you off as a woman this time?”

Nile sat up straight. “Now that is a story I have to hear!”

-

A few months later they were in a safe house somewhere outside London, not necessarily keeping low for any reason but Andy tended to get jumpy when they stayed in one place together for too long. Nile suspected they would be breaking up for a bit and was wondering if she could get talk someone into taking her to see the Northern Lights - she had started a list of places to go and things to do now she had forever and this was top of her paper. At the moment, they were wondering around London, popping into stores at will, the group drawing her attention to buildings and spots with their own history.

“Andy got arrested over there,” Joe was saying, pointing to a bakery, his other arm slung over Nicky’s shoulders. “The original bakers where lovely but she got into an argument because a customer didn’t think that I should be in there with my skin tone and ended up throwing a cake at the woman.”

Nile cackled and Andy grinned through both her sunglasses and her mask. “Such a waste of cake.”

Humming, Booker tilted his head back to look up at the tall buildings. “Didn’t we live around here once? We had to leave when I fell out a window and the neighbours saw me die?”

“Didn’t I push you?” Joe squinted, trying to remember. He stopped when Nicky did, so attuned to his husband that he didn’t jolt when Nicky stopped without warning. 

“Per favore, can we go in?”

Joe looked up at the shopfront and blinked. “An art gallery?” Nicky tilted his head with a smile and wide eyes and Joe gave in immediately.

“Of course, hayati, let’s look.” 

Nile loved going into places like this with her new family, she enjoyed the comments on the time period and experiences that tended to come out so easily when they were faced with these kind of reminders. The group slowed and spread out in the first hall, happy to linger but Nicky seemed to know where he wanted to go, he pulled Joe’s arm off his shoulder and took his husbands hand to tug him into a second room and then around the corner into a third. Booker and Nile looked to Andy who simply shrugged and followed her two wayward warriors.

The three of them almost walked into Joe as he stood in the doorway of a room, eyes wide.

“Faqadat.” He murmured and looked to a grinning Nicky. “You knew this was here?”

“I found it last week, mon soleil. I had to bring you to see it.”

As they stepped into the hall, Andy let out a small sigh, soft and happy. “Ah, that is unmistakably Joe’s.”

Nile studied the piece on the wall, kept safe behind glass. It was parchment, old and scuffed all over - especially around the edges - dirtied and probably soft and delicate to the touch but now it had been smoothed out and lovingly cared for. The pencil lines were faded but the effect of them still held, the sketchiness of the lines filling the paper as the artist drew and redrew parts. Overtop the pencil lines was ink, the blacks still dark and the silver still shining and vivid on the weathered paper. The subject was a man, laying on his side with his back to the artist, fabric under her and a small corner draped over his thighs.

Booker made a noise of agreement. “I think it’s actually unmistakably Nicky’s.” He said with amusement. “God knows we’ve seen Joe draw his ass enough.”

“That’s- oh.” Nile looked at the picture again with new light. Nicky pulled Joe to his own art and pressed his lips to his husbands cheek. “How did it end up here?”

With a shrug, Andy guided them into the room behind Nicky and Joe. “Fuck knows. We leave places in a rush, have safe places that get broken into, have to sell things for money... eventually things pass from hand to hand. Joe has made a lot of art in his life and a lot of it has been lost.”

“And a lot of it was Nicky?” Nile guessed, smiling when Joe looked back at her.

“An artist cannot fight their muse,” he said, smiling back. “I have and continue to spend much time trying to put words and paint to paper for my love; I can never seem to explain my feelings even though I have done thousands of poems, nor can I ever seem to capture quite how I see him even though there are uncountable paintings.”

A soft noise came from Nicky. “You make me blush, my love.”

Booker was fighting a smirk under his mask. “We couldn’t go back to Vatican City for a long time after Nicky stole a book of poems from a museum there.”

Now Nicky was definitely blushing. “Some of those poems were very private, actually.”

Joe was gazing back at the art. “I did this in Russia,” he murmured. “It was far too cold for me so we had the fires burning hot - the snow was piled deep outside but in our little rented room we created a safe warm nest.”

“Ah.” Andy said, sunglasses off and grinning wryly. “I imagine this was done a few weeks before I came slamming into your home being chased by guards after killing a rather influential and rich man who was taking advantage of his townspeople. Sorry.” She didn’t sound sorry.

Joe waved her away. “It is not the first nor will it be the last of my art to be taken and traded around.” He sounded so blasé about it all, Nile wondered just how many ‘unknown’ works were actually Joe’s. 

“I wonder how much they’re selling it for.” Booker said, glancing to his side when a voice came from behind them.

A woman in a smart suit was smiling behind her mask. “I’m afraid this piece has simply been loaned and is not for sale. A private collector bought it from our company some ten years ago and allows us to showcase it occasionally. It’s too beautiful to only have one person admire it, yes?”

“Somethings are for one man’s eyes only.” Joe joked and the woman hummed a laugh even though Andy was sure she didn’t get it.

Nicky was pulling Joe’s attention back to himself. “I saw this on their website and knew we would have to come see it in person. It bought such nice memories back of Russia... Perhaps we should have a winter wedding this time?” Before Joe could answer, Nicky was dropping smoothly to one knee. Nile breathed in hard and she heard the woman behind them let out a squeak. Beside her, Andy squeezed Bookers hand who squeezed back in support. 

Joe and Nicky only had eyes for each other, Nicky pulling a ring from his pocket and Joe smiling slowly. 

“Marry me, love? Iterum?”

“Yes, qalbi. Sempre.”

The ring stayed forgotten in Nicky’s hand as he stood, pulled his mask down in time with his husband - fiancé - and pressed their mouths together in a kiss.

The woman behind Nile was suddenly clapping. “Oh, oh! How lovely!”

Andy slid her sunglasses back on - “boss, we’re inside.” Booker protested - and smirked. “Eh, I’ve seen it before.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sevgililer - Turkish - lovers  
> Per favore - Italian - please  
> Hayati - Arabic - my life  
> Faquadat - Arabic - it was lost/lost  
> Iterum - Latin - again  
> Qalbi - Arabic - my heart  
> Sempre - Italian - always
> 
> Part 2 is coming soon and the reason I wrote this - I just wanna write snippets of their weddings tbh.
> 
> All translations are done through google so please correct me (gently).


End file.
